Degradable Plastics and Sustainable Development

It is interesting to assess the contribution of using enhanced-degradable plastics in place of conventional varieties to sustainable development. 

Compostable plastics may have a niche role to play where its use contributes to better compost quality by minimizing the plastic residue in the product 

AU plastic waste including htter is a material of value in terms of the embedded energy and the nonrenewable materials that comprise it. It is clearly a resource or a raw material that must ideally be recycled and its material and/or energy resources extracted for reuse. Degradability and compostability do not facilitate this key sustainability objective. 

Albertsson AC. Biodegradation of synthetic polymers. 2. Limited microbial conversation of C-14 in polyethylene to (CO-2)-C-14 by some soil fungi. J Appl Polym Sci 1978 22 3419-3433. 

Albertsson AC. The shape of the biodegradation curve for low and high density polyethenes in prolonged series of experiments. Eur Polym J 1980 16 623-630. 

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